Can washing machine



Feb. 8, 1949. E. R. LAIRD CAN WASHING MACHINE 3 Sheets-$heet 1 Filed Dec. 11, 1944 Feb. 8, R, CANWASHING MACHINE 3 Sheeis-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

Feb. 8, 1949.

E. R. LAIRD CAN WASHING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet s Filed Dec. 11, 1944 Patented Feb. 8, 1949 -Elmer .RaLaird Dhicago, lll assignur tonArniour and Company, Chicago, .IlL, a corporation of Illinois Application December 11, 1944Q-eriaJ.No.r5fi-Z;5fi3

(01. lei-:72)

10 "C a ms- This invention relates to can washing vapparatus and more to apparatus for vwashing, rinsing and drying. filled containers suchtas cans.

vIn lcanning food products of many different times the cans or othercontainers .in which the products are packed i. come vfrom ,canningeoperation or from a cookingsoperation following canning with their exteriors covered or streaked with various substances. Before the cans .are labelledptheir exteriors must be w-asheduand dried both to permit proper labelling .and to improve .theappea-rance ofthe cans afterllaioelling is completed. Heretofore, this operation has .been largely done by hand and was aslowexpensiire process not always resultingvinproperly cleaned cans.

One of the objects of the present iinven'ti0n .is to provide a can washing apparatus in .which'the exterior offilled cansjis washed,'rinsed and dried without requiring any handling of the cans.

Another object is to provide a, can washing-av,- paratus which is small and compact and yet whichthoroughly cleans and dries the-cans.

Still another object is to provide ,can washing apparatus in which thecansare'washediwith a re-useable washing liquid and arerinse'd *with a separate'rinsing liquid.

A further'object is-toprovide 'can washin japparatus in-which the cans are dried by the *ci-rculation of heated "air thereoverfo'liowing washing and rinsing,

Astill further object is'to provide can washing apparatus in which'the cans are automatically picked up and-unloaded by the apparatus.

Another object is to provide an apparatus in which thescans are held atan-ang-le so liquidwill .drain readily therefrom.

The above andother objects and advantages .of the invention will be more readily apparent from .the following description when readrinmonnection with the accompanying .drawings, :in which Figure 'lis .a :side elevation of' an apparatus embodying the. invention with parts brokenrawayi .Figure 2;is a sectionvon:thewhrokenziine 2420f Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a-section on the line 3-;3 "info-Figure 1;

Figure 4 is .an end elevation ;-:of ;a basket in the loading positionron the line 4-4 ofw-E'igure-Z; Figureb is an end elevation zof a basket iinthe unloadingposition on the line .w5--5 .of .Iigure 2 Figure ,6 a top plan [view of the fbasketaand 11n1oading,means.of\Eigure 5 ;cand

,EigureW is aside view withparts inrsection showing the .mannarin vwhich .cans vare iheld pin ztheba'skets.

The @Dpmtatus, as shown, rcomptises .a ,cab ine t indicated generally at ii which is rectangular, in Land vertically elongated. The cabinetis iiividedjpy partitions 11,12 and 113 into .a' washing compartment M, a rinsing :compartment [f5 and .Ilnymg compartments 16 and illhegpartitions, LI and 1.3 as iseenjin Figure :1 ;ter-

' minate 'beiow ;.the"top ,o'iithe cabinet while the compartmen "t2 exten s 0nip1et.e'ly L h' bin qpi The cabinetis .llreferabiy supportedon aftank "I?! which is rectan u ar i plan and wh ch djerlies the entire cabinet. An extension '19 on the tank 1e projects beyond the cabinet gandis c ve d bra hin d floor?! so*th t he a km y ma be fill-ed .w tnw s m l m he o 9 the itarik is "open fbeneathithe "washing compartmen llfi 's tha *w ih n' ili r mit e w in cenrpartrnentmay flow 'freeiytinto the-tank, Beeath *the rinsing compartment -i'5,:1he--taiik top in whichrinsingdiquid may "collect; The'rins- "in'g ;-liquid' may *be 'drained froinhe sump thru a pipe 13 leading to waste. To *insure 'that all of the rinsing iiq'ui-d is poli'ected an thesumpand iieesncit mix withRiheavashing liquiii to diiute -it, the partitions H and tZ-may .bevturnedinwardiy toward iti-ie summdicated "at N and n" in 69115 :to :be -z-washed :are :adapted to ibe carried :thru the ieabinet and :thnu the washing, zrlinsin g gamizdnying v:ccmp'ar'tm'en'ts :in iseqnen'ce hy e con- XEBXOY including a i pair. of monzomany .sspaced enainsJ-ZA. a'lihe nhainsipass werssnaced sprocksets 25 g-locatedebove ithe rpartitinn QM runderisimiiar asp aned :spreckets 26 radiacent the flower rend hi the partition 42 @ever aspaced ('SP QCKQtS 17 13.13 :the dipper :end -of the partition t3 and rover idler sprockets;28.-and\-Zr 9- infvtherlowergpart Qfi'thefiazbir net. iBreferahly -onenset sf z-the sprockets isimade -,a.. 1justab1e to V maintain the schains itight, tithe sprc ckets i2 ,beingsshownrfor ithis;purp0se;as:supported thy .-,blecks =3! are ivertically adjustalcleabgr=screwe32A;otighteinttirienhaims.v v a a .The .spruckets la dichains tareidriven-phy pro viding a shafitsextensionuon the f s haitaon which sprockets ,z eiaize mounted :and rwhich carries sexteriorttottheteabinetiardrivingisprocketal .iIihe drivingispmcket sameshes with a drivingschain .3Ldriiren-thma sptocltet aifiby, inseam-reduction unitjl; iand'ia motor .33. Whemthe v-motcr that chain will the driven nto. rise i-inwthe washing rcoxnpartment te moradqwnwardin the intermediate their ends so that a can or other container to be washed will rest in the baskets and be carried thereby. To support the baskets on the chains the baskets are formed at their ends with triangular and members comiected to the cross bar 39 and formed with eyes 4! pivotally fitting over pins extending inwardly from. the chains.

The baskets are so constructed as to carry cans at an angle to the horizontal as best seen in Figure 7. As shown in this figure, the cans indicated at 46 will rest on the finger portions 33 at an angle to the horizontal so that all parts of the can will be subjected to direct action of the washing and rinsing sprays to be described later. Substantially all cans are sealed by means of beads as indicated at 40c and if held with their tops horizontal would tend to accumulaterelatively large pools of liquid on their tops so that they could :14"

not be dried properly without an unduly extended drying period. By supporting the cans at an angle as shown, the liquid runs off of their tops freely, producing a better washing and rinsing action on the tops of the cans and allowing the -3- bars 43 which are adapted to interleave with the fingers 38 of the baskets. In order to prevent the baskets from tilting to drop the can during loading, a guide plate .44 is provided spaced from the ends of the bars 43 and closely adjacent the path of travel of the cross bar 39 on the baskets i the upper part of the cabinet adjacent'the which will engage the bar 39 toprevent the baskets from tilting to an undesired extent in a counter-clockwise direction. As a can is fed onto the fingers 43, a basket on the conveyor will rise under it and will lift it from the bars and carry it thru the apparatus. Thus the machine may be loaded without manual intervention so that cans which are still hot from the canning or cooking operation can easily be handled without the necessity of an intermediate cooling step.

The completed cans are removed from the apparatus by an unloading means as best shown in Figures 2, 5 and 6. The unloading means comprises a series of triangularly shaped members 45 secured to the partition [3 and extending outwardly with the upper edges of the triangular members 45 sloping downwardly and outwardly from the partition. The members 45 are so spaced as to interleave with the fingers 38 on the baskets so that as a basket travels downwardly the members 45 will engage and lift a can therefrom. After the basket has passed the can may 4 spaced as seen in Figure 6 to permit easy passage of a can between them.

As the cans travel upwardly thru the washing compartment l4 they are washed by means of a series of spray nozzles48 spaced vertically and laterally throughout the washing compartment. The nozzles 48 are supplied from vertical header f pipes 48 which are connected at their lower ends to an annular manifold 5i. The manifold 5! is supplied thru a pipe 52 by a pump 53 driven by a motor 54. The inlet of the pump is connected thru a pipe 55 to a screen 56 submerged in the tank l8. When the motor 54 is running, washing ployed may be a mixture of water with any solvent or detergent material according to the substances to be removed from the cans. It will be noted that the major part of the washing liquid employed returns to the tank l8 so that it may be re-used a number of times.

The detergent and any loosened substances remaining on the cans as they travel out of the washing compartment is removed in the rinsing compartment by'means of a series of spray nozzles 51 spaced vertically and laterally throughout this compartment. These nozzles may be supplied with any desired rinsing liquid such as water which is fed to the nozzles thru a spray pipe 58. The rinsing liquid together with such materials as are washed from the cans in the rinsing compartment is collected in the troughZZ and is conducted to waste or to other desired points of disposition through the conduit 23.

In order to dry the cans in the drying compartments l5 and H, air is circulated therethrough. .For this purpose a fan 61 is mounted top of the compartment [7 to force air into the cabinet. A heat exchanger indicated generally at 62 and supplied with heat medium such as steam thru pipes 63, is arranged adjacent the fan iii to heat the air prior to its entry into the cabinet so thatv drying of the cans will beaccelerated. The air is caused to circulate thru the drying compartment around the cans by means of an exhauster blower 54 whose inlet is connected to the cabinet at the upper part of the rinsing compartment and which dischargesthru a conduit 55 outside of the cabinet. -With both the fan El and the blower 64 running, the heated air forced into the cabinet will pass partially downward thru the compartment J1 and partially across the upper edge of the partition I 3 to'traveldownward .thru the compartment l6. Thetwo streams of air will join below the partition l2 and be drawn up thru the rinsing compartment by the blower 6 3. In this way, it is insured that the air is in cont-act with the cans a maximum permissible amount of time so that the cans will be thoroughly dried by the time they reachthe unloading mechanism;

It willbe noted that the arrangement of the several compartments in vertical 'side-by-side relationship in a single cabinet provides a very compact apparatus requiring a v minimum of floor space and yet which will effectively wash, rinse and dry-the cans ina minimum amount of time and without-requiring anyhandling,

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail herein, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not intended as definition of the scope of the invention, referencebeing had for this purpose to the appendedclaims.

;- 'What-is-claimed is:

1. Can Washing apparatus:.compr-ising aicabinet, vertical partitions therein providing vertically extending washing, rinsing and drying compartmen'ts, a conveyor passing vertically through the compartments successively, baskets TOD the conveyor to carry cans .to bewashed, means adjacent the entrance to the .washing compartment to load cans into the. baskets,.spray nozzles in the washing compartment ..to spray washing liquid onthe cans as they travel therethrough, spray nozzles .in the rinsing compartment to spray rinsing liquid on the cans as they travel therethrough, means to circulate air through the drying compartment to dry the cans as they travel therethrough, and means adjacent to the discharge end of the drying compartment to unload the cans from the baskets.

2. Can washing apparatus comprising a cabinet, Vertical partitions therein providing verti- .cally extending washing, rinsing and drying compartments, a conveyor passing vertically through the compartments successively, baskets on the conveyor to carry cans to be washed, means adjacent the entrance to the washing compartment to load cans into the baskets, spray nozzles in the washing compartment to spray washing liquid on the cans as they travel therethrough, spray nozzles in the rinsing compartment to spray rinsing liquid on the cans as they travel therethrough, fan means to blow air into the drying compartment, a heat exchange device adjacent the fan means, and an exhaust blower spaced from said fan means to withdraw air from the cabinet.

3. Can washing apparatus comprising a cabinet, vertical partitions therein providing vertical washing, rinsing and drying compartments, a conveyor passing vertically through the compartments successively, baskets carried by the conveyor formed with spaced parallel fingers to hold the cans to be washed, loading means including spaced parallel bars adapted to interleave with the fingers whereby the baskets can pick up cans from the bars, nozzles in the washing compartment to spray washing liquid on the cans as they travel therethrough, nozzles in the rinsing compartment to spray rinsing liquid on the cans, and means to circulate air through the drying compartment to dry the cans.

4. Can washing apparatus comprising a cabinet, vertical partitions therein providing vertical washing, rinsing and drying compartments, a conveyor passing vertically through the compartments successively, baskets carried by the conveyor formed with spaced parallel fingers to hold the cans to be washed, loading means including spaced parallel bars adapted to interleave with the fingers whereby the baskets can pick up cans from the bars, nozzles in the washing compartment to spray washing liquid on the cans as they travel therethrough, nozzles in the rinsing compartment to spray rinsing liquid on the cans, means to dry the cans as they travel through the drying compartment, and a plurality of spaced sloping fingers adjacent the discharge end of the drying compartment to interleave with washed through the cabinets, the baskets 'being formed with spaced parallel fingers to support the 'cans, loading means adjacent :the entrance end 'of the washing compartment including spaced parallel bars adapted'to interleave=with the basket fingera nozzles in'the washing-compartment tospray'washing liquid'on the cans as they travel therethrough, nozzles inth-erinsing compartment to spray rinsing liquid =on the cansas they traveltherethrough, and means communicating'with the drying compartment for-drying the cansas-they travelthrough the drying compartment.

6. Can washing apparatus comprising a cabinet, vertical partitions in the cabinet dividing it into washing, rinsing and drying compartments, horizontally spaced conveyor chains passing vertically through the compartments successively, baskets pivoted at their ends to the chains and lying between the chains to carry cans to be washed through the cabinets, the baskets being formed. with spaced parallel fingers to support the cans, loading means adjacent the entrance end of the washing compartment including spaced parallel bars adapted to interleave with the basket fingers, nozzles in the washing compartment to spray washing liquid on the cans as they travel therethrough, nozzles in the rinsing compartment to spray rinsing liquid cnthe cans as they travel therethrough, means communicating with the drying compartment for drying the cans as they travel through the drying compartment, and unloading means adjacent the discharge end of the drying compartment including spaced parallel bars lying at an angle to the horizontal and adapted to interleave with the basket fingers to spaced parallel fingers to support the cans, load- 7 ing means adjacent the entrance'end of the washing compartment including spaced parallel bars adapted to interleave with the basket fingers, nozzles in the washing compartment to spray 'washing liquid on the cans as they travel there through, nozzles in the rinsing compartment to spray rinsing liquid on the cans as they travel therethrough, fan means to forceair into the drying compartment, a heat exchanger adjacent the fan means to heat the air, an exhauster fan connected to the cabinet at a point spaced from the fan means to cause circulation of the heated air through the drying compartment, and unloading means adjacent the discharge end of the drying compartment to unload dried cans from the baskets.

8. Can washing apparatus comprising walls forming a plurality of vertical compartments, a conveyor passing vertically thru the compartments successively, baskets on the conveyor whose bottoms consist of spaced angular fingers to hold the cans at an angle to the horizontal, spray nozzles in one of the compartments to spray washing liquid on the cans, spray nozzles in another of the compartments to spray rinsing liquid on the cans, and loading and unloading means at spaced points in the length of the conveyor each including spaced parallel bars to interleave with the fingers in the basket bottom. I

9. In a can washing apparatus, a basket adapted to carry a can to be washed comprising a frame having end members connected at one side by a cross bar, means on the end members for pivotal connection to a conveyor, and spaced parallel fingers connected to the cross bar and extending outward therefrom, the fingers bending intermediate their ends to support a can at an angle to the horizontal.

10. In a can Washing apparatus, a basket adapted to support a can to be washed comprising connected end members pivotally supported on a conveyor, and means between the end members forming an openwork basket bottom and bending downward at an angle between the sides of the basket to support a can at an acute angle to the horizontal.

ELMER R. LAIRD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Stone June 11, 1940 

